I was watching a show on The History Channel the other day and saw something I'm curious about?

Question

The program was about the Ku Klux Klan. What was their meaning in burning a cross?

http://mcbush3.files.wordpress.com/2008/05/burning-cross.jpg

Answer 1

Satan always tries to pretend to be Christian, to try to deceive people away from coming to the truth.

In reality, the KKK was started by freemason Albert Pike.  Freemasonry is not Christian, nor should any Christian have anything to do with it.  Pike says that freemasonry exalts Lucifer (Satan).

Answer 2

I believe they burned the cross to tell the homeowner to leave town because this is a white, decent, Christian, all American neighborhood.

This was usually fdollowed by some sort of violence ranging from the minimal to the extreme. Blacks usually obliged the message out of fear for them and their families.

Answer 3

It's ironic that a bunch of anti-Catholic bigots would adopt such a thing, but I've always heard that the KKK borrowed this practice from the Catholic Scots. Before telephones, the Scottish used to burn a cross as a distress signal to their distant neighbors. There's something about burning an article near and dear to one's heart that brings about a sense of urgency. When the Scots burned crosses on top of hills, it was a signal to those in the surrounding countryside that basically meant ''we need your help. Get here ASAP.'' The KKK does it simply to promote terror, to inspire fear. It's common for almost any terrorist group, after committing some act of violence, to claim responsibility. Doing so makes it easier to intimidate people. In the case of the KKK, this is done by leaving a burning cross in a victim's yard.  

Answer 4

Probably to show they are alive & well. Burning crosses is something they do a lot.

Answer 5

Dunno but, as an atheist living in the Buybull Belt, I'm always expecting to see one lighting up my front lawn

Answer 6

i thought that the ku klux klan was against black people and they burnt black people houses down, but maybe it was at a church that black people went to so they burnt a cross.  

Answer 7

You have a computer, and you were watching TV?

Isn't that some form of blasphemy or something?

Answer 8

Couldn't find any specific explanation of the cross burning on their web site, but I would guess that it goes along with their claim to be a Christian organization and their desire to promote terror.  A cross is the most common symbol for Christianity and burning a big one on someone's lawn is a great way to create terror.

Answer 9

They were just doing God's work.. don't you know?

Answer 10

burning a cross does not mean youre a good christian,. it means youi dont believe in god  

Answer 11

Gandalf's Ghost?  What happened to you Gandalf?!?!?

I read on Wikipedia that members of the Klan claim they aren't "burning" the cross, but they are "lighting" it as a symbol of the faith of their members.  This did have a citation and a link but the link was broken.  So, as with anything on Wikipedia, I'd take it with a grain of salt and a tequila :)

I've read in another article that cross burning was originally done as a tribute to their Scotch ancestors who lit lights to signify that danger was coming, but they began using it purely for purposes of intimidation.  That still doesn't explain why they chose the particular cross.  Here's a link to this article:  http://www.uta.fi/~johanna.e.jarvinen/KK...

Another article agrees with the idea of the idea coming from the Scots:

http://www.straightdope.com/columns/read...

So the consensus seems to be that they are borrowing this tradition from the Scots who burned crosses as a symbol of warning in the medieval age, when the Klan thinks that society was racially homogenus - shows what they know of history eh?

Peace!

Answer 12

This is the best thing I could find.  It is an ancient Scottish call to war.  Sounds like a plausible answer.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cross_burni...